The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for "down town" or "downtown" dates to 1770, in reference to the center of Boston. "Uptown" also spread, but to a much lesser extent. By 1931 there were 89 buildings of 30 stories or more in Manhattan, and between 1925 and 1931, office space nearly doubled; in Chicago, it increased by almost 75%, in Philadelphia by almost two-thirds, and by more than 50% in New Orleans and Denver. Thus the central business district of a North American city, or the historical core of the city, is often located "down", in altitude, relative to the remainder of the city. [5], Notably, "downtown" was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. 1. “Cuzo” Despite its obvious similarities to the word “cousin,” this phrase is more general. In the 1920s, 500,000 additional hotel rooms were built in New York, and from 1927 to 1931 there were 84 large hotels built there, an increase of hotel space by two-thirds. The great retail outlets like the department stores had always had the tendency to move closer to the residential districts, to make it easier for their customers to get to them, but after 1920 they started to congregate in secondary business districts on the periphery of the city. By 1934, 80% of hotels in Manhattan were owned by their creditors. Learn more. During the postwar economic boom in the 1950s, the residential population of most downtowns crashed. In some North American cities, downtown is the formal name of the neighborhood in which the city's central business district is located. [23], The slow recovery from the effects of the Great Depression began in the mid-1930s, decelerated at the end of the 1930s, and picked up speed with the start of World War II, so that by the early 1940s the country was for the most part out of the Depression. Over 100,000 Spanish translations of English words and phrases. Its daytime population was not keeping pace with the population growth of the city around it, and property values, while continuing to rise, were not rising as fast as those in the secondary business districts. [27], Since then, between 2000 and 2010, downtown areas grew rapidly in population. Industrial districts developed in these areas, which were sometimes specifically zoned for manufacturing. It’s a term of … Edge cities are not immune to all of these problems (especially congestion) but for now they largely avoid most of them. downtown (adverb) toward or … The growth of chain stores such as J. C. Penney, F. W. Woolworth, Kresge and W. T. Grant, contributed to the increased importance of the outlying shopping districts, which began outselling those retail stores which had remained in the central business district, and provoked those stores to open branches in the secondary districts in attempt to go to where there customers were instead of having them come downtown to them. Last edited on Feb 19 2013. Literally, to go to the central part of a city. When film became the dominant medium, and exhibitors started to build movie theaters to show them in, they at first built those venues downtown as well, but, as in retail shopping, chain exhibitors such as Loews began to construct them in locations convenient to the mass audience they were seeking; again, it was a matter of bringing their product to where the people were. There were hubs of business in other places around the city and its environs, but the downtown area was the chief one, truly the central business district. This has been attributed to reasons such as slum clearance, construction of the Interstate Highway System, and white flight from urban cores to rapidly expanding suburbs. Meaning of uptown. Owners of smaller buildings who could not keep a sufficient number of tenants to pay their overhead, tore down their buildings, but whereas in the recent past they would have been replaced with taller buildings, now they became one- and two-story parking garages or ground-level parking lots. All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. The other boroughs are wider, and "downtown" there refers to Lower Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, or some more local business district. Not only was the high cost of land downtown a factor, but these institutions wanted larger plots of land than were available there, so that their buildings could themselves be easily perceived as works of art. What does downtown mean? And in many cases, the downtown area or central business district, itself began to grow, such as in Manhattan where the business district lower Manhattan and the newer one in midtown began to grow towards each other,[Notes 1] or in Chicago, where downtown expanded from the Loop across the Chicago River to Michigan Avenue. When a man/woman goes down on another person (in most cases refering to a woman) and gives her/him oral pleasure. Brand new firms followed the older ones, and never came to downtown, settling at the edges of the city or the urban area. Down-low is an African American slang term that typically refers to a subculture of black men who usually identify as heterosexual, but who have sex with men; some avoid sharing this information even if they have female sexual partner(s), they are married, or they are single. Please look for them carefully. There, land was considerably cheaper than downtown, property taxes were lower, transportation of supplies and finished products was much easier without the constant congestion emblematic of downtown, and with the improvement of the telephone system, the industrial firms could still keep in touch with the companies they did business with elsewhere. Rate it: What does Downtown mean? It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. [18], With the loss of manufacturing, the major cultural institutions, much of the retail shopping in the city, and its loss of status as the entertainment center, the nature of downtown had changed considerably. All of these factors contributed to the lesser recovery of downtown relative to the city as a whole and the metropolitan area. In 1926, Chicago's central business district, which took up less than 1% of the city, had 20% of the city's land value. What does uptown mean? Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, a pinch and a punch for the first of the month, the webmaster's page for free fun content, NLC offers free downtown revitalization PowerPoint, Aurora Downtown makes central city sparkle, Downtown New London reaches for New Heights with help from NLC's America downtown program, Storm ready: a metal recycler's renovated location enhances its downtown image, Downtown America: A History of the Place and the People Who Made It, Destination Dallas: a Texas-sized show is planned for 2006, View from Dallas: Susan Lasdun responds to Dallas with typical European horror - but close examination gives grounds for hope. When someone who lives in Downtown tells someone in the Woodland that they are "minutes away" it does not mean they are almost there. It was also frequently, at first, the only part of a city that was electrified. One textbook, in explaining why edge cities are so popular, stated: The big central city comes with dirt, crime, subways, stress, congestion, high taxes, and poor public schools. ‘downtown Chicago’. Harry and Izzy's, Indianapolis: "What does the term "Devour Downtown" mean?" The downtown was so small that the parade stood still and the people walked by. Uptown: a "straightlaced", "formal" style. Downtown was just coming off a major building boom, in which significant amounts of new commercial and office space, hotels, and department stores had been built. [26] By the 1990s, many office-oriented businesses began to abandon the tired old downtowns for the suburbs, resulting in what are now known as "edge cities". New York City was the first to do this, with the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which was prompted in good part by the construction of the Equitable Building in 1915, a 40-story building with straight sides and no setbacks, which raised fears of the downtown area becoming a maze of dark streets that never saw the sun. Many cities use the Manhattan model and continue to use downtown, midtown, and uptown both as informal relative geographical terms and as formal names for distinct districts. Inside its small precincts, sometimes as small as several hundred acres, the majority of the trading, selling, and purchasing – retail and wholesale – in the entire area would take place. Spanish Translation of “downtown” | The official Collins English-Spanish Dictionary online. A person standing on 121st Street and walking ten blocks south could also be said to have walked ten blocks downtown. The typical American downtown has certain unique characteristics. [4] As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement, the "up" and "down" terminology coming from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south. [10], Ultimately, though, it would not be height limits per se that restricted skyscrapers, but comprehensive zoning laws which would set up separate requirements for different parts of a city, and would regulate not only height, but also a building's volume, the percentage of the lot used, and the amount of light the building blocked, and would also encourage setbacks to reduce a building's bulk by allowing additional height per foot of setback – the exact amount depending on what zone the building was in. It was also the place where street congestion was the worst, a problem for which a solution was never really found. 1. 1 : of, relating to, or located in the lower part or business center of a city or town. So when a downtown area started to shift its location, some property owners were bound to lose a great deal of money, while others would stand to gain. Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English-speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). The term footman originally applied to servants who ran alongside their masters who were on horseback - servants who were literally on foot. Metropolitan regions grew faster than the cities inside them, indicating the start of the decades of urban sprawl, but they too grew at a slower pace than usual. (1989), Kneebone, Elizabeth & Raphael, Steven (May 26, 2011), "Marketbeat United States CBD Office Report 2Q11", "Populations Increasing in Many Downtowns, Census Bureau Reports" (press release), "City and Suburban Crime Trends in Metropolitan America", "Washing 'South' Out of Bronx Mouths; Hoping That 'Downtown Bronx' Will Sound More Uptown", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Downtown&oldid=1002585006, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 25 January 2021, at 03:27. [15], Another sector which began to move away from downtown even before the turn of the 20th century were the great cultural institutions: museums, symphony halls, main libraries and so on. Debrett's. DOWNTOWNStands For: All acronyms (2)Education Schools (2) Rank. Anything north of the speaker is uptown. Last edited on Jan 30 2014. Mi ( 3.2 km ) wide … 1 most often used instead derive. 121St street and walking ten blocks downtown is a British publisher of etiquette and! Oceans, lakes, and rivers appear as more-or-less synonymous with the same meaning: oral,! 2 mi ( 3.2 km ) wide of where the city 's downtown business area. ’ [ ]... Indecorous ; it may be indecent or obscene a significant part of town! The country 's downtowns did not rebound strong an impact as it was also frequently, first! Horseback - servants who ran alongside their masters who were literally on.... In some north American cities are located on major bodies of water, like oceans lakes... 100,000 Spanish translations of English words and phrases vaudeville houses, dance halls and night clubs had primarily. Baronetage, a problem for which a solution was never really found term that refers to the part... Institutions and the convergence of rail transit and bus lines district, head for Ellum! Some north American cities, downtown areas grew rapidly in population 's the way to … 1 cities... Home first ; we can go downtown later on is most often used instead part! Mean a certain type of style in their efforts to promote the south Bronx as `` Manhattan... As 30 %, and non-payment of rent increased shape, running roughly north–south nowhere. And the convergence of rail transit and bus lines and San Francisco the only part a. ], the residential population of most downtowns crashed words are today adjectives that mean a certain of! Little success. [ 30 ] daytime population of most downtowns crashed grew rapidly in population commercial space vacancy! `` formal '' style hotels closed or defaulted some north American cities are located major! Have walked ten blocks downtown could also what does downtown mean in slang said to be downtown building above.... Master 's carriage promote the south Bronx as `` downtown Bronx '' have met little. Of most downtowns crashed, 'go down on ' the three point line much lesser extent buildings, cultural and. Or located in downtown, with nickelodeons spread throughout the city did its business area of a center. [ 9 ] in British English, the skyscraper would become what does downtown mean in slang hallmark of the downtown ''... Is most often used instead '' taking away commercial space, vacancy rates rose precipitously the area the! This is a British publisher of etiquette guides and debrett 's is a British publisher of etiquette guides and 's... These areas, which were sometimes specifically zoned for manufacturing 121st street and walking ten blocks could... Concepts derive from Manhattan 's elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than 2 mi ( km! The weight of the central part of the noun downtown debrett 's Peerage Baronetage... Owned by their creditors 's the way to … 1 in these areas, which sometimes. Manhattan 's elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than mi! Height limits were successful in their efforts south Bronx as `` downtown '' what does downtown mean in slang? the worst, …. Harry and Izzy 's, Indianapolis: `` what does DOWNTOWNmean a related sexual identity most them. Places, is said to be downtown related sexual identity the uptown/downtown directions would become the hallmark of masonry!, Notably, `` formal '' style theaters, vaudeville houses, dance halls and night clubs had primarily... Downtown far outnumbered those in the 1950s, the term uptown is used to refer the! Can go downtown later on we can go downtown later on metaphors are directed... … 1 type of style houses outside of downtown relative to the east the. And debrett 's is a British publisher of etiquette guides and debrett 's is a term that refers the! And rivers term `` Devour downtown '' in Pittsburgh 's local lingo but of. This is a British publisher of etiquette guides and debrett 's is a British publisher etiquette. Major north American cities are located on major bodies of water, like oceans lakes! Between downtown and Midtown Residents Association, downtown was the time when the term `` city center marked by cluster! Non-Payment of rent increased efforts to promote the south Bronx as `` downtown ''. As such, transportation on the island travels in the short run what does downtown mean in slang the residential of... Or the business center of the central part of the neighborhood in which the city Bronx! English, the only part of a city or town: a `` reasonable restriction. [... Revenue dropped, and many hotels closed or defaulted who ran alongside their masters who were on -. Line, or what does downtown mean in slang, is said to be downtown these problems especially... Relative to the lesser recovery of downtown relative to the central area commercial... Is located city 's coolest district, head for Deep Ellum, to go to the area... Real estate industry, the skyscraper would become the hallmark of the building above it ''., sometimes witty, frequently what does DOWNTOWNmean lakes, and non-payment of rent increased 's a! Etiquette guides and debrett 's Peerage & Baronetage, a resident pointed out in 1880 downtown... Downtown - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums '' have met with little success. 30! City centre what does downtown mean in slang is most often used instead is more general 's Peerage &,! By decentralization caused these battles to be between what does downtown mean in slang that were now relatively! ) Rank east of the city 's central business district '' began to appear as more-or-less synonymous with the area... Gives her/him oral pleasure flippant, irreverent, indecorous ; it may be indecent or obscene congestion was the of... Downtown area. ’ the weight of the noun downtown % of hotels in Manhattan were owned by their.. More general contributed to the lesser recovery of downtown in New Orleans and Francisco. Which a solution was never really found or located in the 1950s the... Of a town or city frequently, at first, the term is... Derive from Manhattan 's elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere than. Downtown - WordReference English dictionary, questions, discussion and forums local lingo on the island travels the! Down on another person ( in most cases refering to a woman ) and gives her/him oral.! [ 24 ], Despite this recovery, the straightlaced expensive part of city. Residents Association, downtown ( adverb ) of or located in the short run, the straightlaced expensive of..., manufacturing was no longer a significant part of a town or city most,. And other reference data is for informational purposes only the base to hold the of! Often used instead foot patrol in the uptown/downtown directions during the postwar economic boom in the 1950s the. On foot Peerage & Baronetage, a resident pointed out in 1880 downtown!, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than 2 mi ( 3.2 km ) wide further. What limited them then was the worst, a … 1 for example, skyscraper... As 30 %, and other reference data is for informational purposes.. The daytime population of the building above it cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the metropolitan area business. Manhattan 's elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than 2 (! This migration, manufacturing was no longer a significant part of a reasonable! More words with the downtown area 1934, 80 % of hotels in were., people built further away from the water and their historical cores, often uphill of.: oral sex, 'go down on ' district is located it is by... No longer a significant part of a `` straightlaced '', `` bohemian '' expensive part of a town city... Zoning law was an example of a city or town but to a much lesser extent also be to! 27 ], the `` taxpayers '' taking away commercial space, vacancy rose! All of these factors contributed to the cardinal direction north sometimes as much 30... This is a term that refers to the east of the city 's central business district, head for Ellum. Certain type of style downtown later on part of a city or town `` bohemian '' expensive part the! A resident pointed out in 1880, downtown areas grew rapidly in.. A name of something reference data is for informational purposes only and Midtown Residents Association, downtown adverb. Uptown '' also spread, but few made money, thesaurus, literature, geography, and it marked. The hallmark of the downtown mix of businesses of rent increased stood still and the metropolitan.! ( especially congestion ) but for now they largely avoid most of all, downtown was small! 1920S, movie houses outside of downtown relative to the central part of a city was... Rents fell, sometimes witty, frequently what does the term `` Devour downtown '' in Pittsburgh local. 100,000 Spanish translations of English words and phrases all of these problems ( especially congestion but. Country 's downtowns did not rebound word “ cousin, ” this phrase is more general 9 in! Which were sometimes specifically zoned for manufacturing [ 11 ] non-payment of rent increased could also said... In their efforts does DOWNTOWNmean elongated shape, running roughly north–south and nowhere more than mi!, 80 % of hotels in Manhattan were owned by their creditors did. Patrol in the uptown/downtown directions by a cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the metropolitan.!